1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to stored value cards, and more particularly to stored value cards such as prepaid or gift cards which provide a user or recipient of the card with benefits, from at least some of the merchants in the relevant financial network, beyond what is purchased with the card.
2. Related Art
Smart cards, which are portable transaction cards providing cash equivalent value for use within an existing transaction infrastructure, are becoming more and more prevalent in the U.S. and throughout the world. Such cards are typically the size of conventional plastic credit cards, and include an embedded computer chip having processing power and memory to enable the card to be associated with a transaction account for use by a consumer. Smart card-enhanced systems are in wide use in several fields, including healthcare, banking, and transportation.
One typical smart card application is a “stored value card,” which is a pre-paid card that acts like an electronic purse, such as a gift card. In stored value cards, a prepaid amount of currency value is stored in the smart card memory for use as conventional cash, enabling the card to be used. For example, once a customer deposits fifty dollars of value into the account associated with the stored value card, the card may be used, upon activation, for payments of up to fifty dollars.
In operation, a user inserts the card into a terminal device which communicates with the card through contacts. The terminal device may be part of a cash register, a vending machine, or another type of point-of-sale device. Upon being inserted, the value amount of the purchase is transferred from the card to the merchant terminal or to a central clearing and authorization system such that the merchant may be credited with the requisite amount of value. Consequently, the value amount of the consumer's card is reduced correspondingly.
Stored value cards can be desirable for a number of reasons. For example, they provide a safe and convenient way to avoid carrying or handling cash and loose change. Also, they have found good use as gifts. Furthermore, if the card holder desires cash, many transaction cards allow access to funds through an automated teller machine (ATM). Moreover, some cards are re-loadable, meaning that the consumer can add funds to the associated account, which provides an extra measure of convenience.
Stored value card systems can be operated both as “closed” or “open” systems. Closed systems are limited to specific participating merchants (e.g., a particular store or chain of stores), or at various point of sale locations in a setting such as a college campus. Such cards would not be compatible with point of sale terminals outside the closed system. One example of a closed card is a pre-paid gift card that may only be purchased at, and only be used at, a clothing retailer, such as The Gape store. Open systems allow use of the card at any merchant having a compatible point of sale card reader or device, and therefore open cards are financial transaction cards that are generally accepted at different merchants.
The International Standards Organization (ISO) has established a number of specifications for such electronic cards under the ISO/IEC Standards Series 7810, 7811, 7816, and 10536. Typical smart cards include a plurality of electrical contracts on one surface which provide input and output interfaces with a microprocessor in the card. The cards can be “contact” cards, meaning that their contacts interface with a terminal via ohmic contact, or “contactless” cards, meaning that they rely on close-coupling with a terminal, employing radio frequency (RFID) communication between card and reader without physical insertion of the card. Some smart cards now include both types of contact schemes, in that they are compatible with terminals having either contact interfaces or contactless interfaces.
The microprocessor in a smart card is able to store an operating program and other information in volatile memory alterable by a Central Processing Unit (CPU), which possesses hard-wired control circuitry. A single Integrated Circuit (IC) chip can contain the CPU and the various types of memory, including volatile and non-volatile memory, which make up the microprocessor.
Smart card readers read the data stored on the smart chard chips. They can be plugged into computers, or can be built directly into computers, keyboards, cell phones, or other electronic devices. Software communicates with the reader and sends commands to manage the reader such as power up and transfer commands. Further, smart cards employ various forms of security for safety and protection.
Conventional stored value card systems are limited to providing cash equivalent value in accordance with the pre-paid amount of currency value stored in the smart card memory in advance, for use in a “closed” or “open” system, as described above. However, there is a need for providing to a user or receiver of the card benefits from certain merchants in a financial network beyond what is purchased with the card. There is also a need for providing to a user or receiver of the card a selection of benefits from which he or she would like to choose. There is also a need for a stored value card, usable within a financial network, that is directed to a specific theme or themes to which benefits are related, the benefits being provided by at least some of the merchants in the network.